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1996 Argentine Grand Prix
7 April | officialname = XIX Gran Premio Marlboro de la Republica Argentina | circuit = Autódromo Oscar Alfredo Gálvez | location = Buenos Aires, Argentina | circuittype = Permanent racing facility | lapdistance = 4.259 | laps = 72 | distance = 306.648 |pole = Damon Hill |polenation = GBR |poleteam = |poletime = 1:30.346 |fastestlap = 1:29.413 |fastestlapdriver = Jean Alesi |fastestlapnation = FRA |fastestlapteam = |fastestlapnumber = 66 |winner = Damon Hill |winnernation = GBR |winnerteam = |second = Jacques Villeneuve |secondnation = CAN |secondteam = |third = Jean Alesi |thirdnation = FRA |thirdteam = }} The XIX Gran Premio Marlboro de la Republica Argentina, otherwise known as the 1996 Argentine Grand Prix, was the third round of the FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Autódromo Juan y Oscar Gálvez in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on the 7 April 1996.'Argentine GP, 1996', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2014), https://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr584.html, (Accessed 13/08/2019) The race would see Damon Hill secure his third straight victory of the campaign, surviving a mid-race safety car caused by two incidents involving Pedro Diniz. The build-up to the weekend would be dominated by complaints about the track surface, which was found to be extremely bumpy. As a result the organisers opted to simply grind away the worst limps, only to create a washboard like surface that proved even more troublesome for the drivers during practice. Regardless, it was Hill who swept to pole position during qualifying, threading his way around the bumps the quickest to beat Michael Schumacher by two tenths. Hill's teammate Jacques Villeneuve was next ahead of Jean Alesi, with two seconds covering the top half of the field. Raceday dawned bright and warm, with Hill acing the start to claim an early lead, with Schumacher stalking him in second. Villeneuve gave chase in third ahead of the s, with the rest of the field getting away largely in grid order. Hill and Schumacher would ease clear during the early stages, with the unable to seriously threaten the Williams. Indeed, once the pair were clear of the rest Hill began pushing on, and duly opened out a six second lead in the space of four laps. The leaders all made their stops in the same four lap window, with Hill rejoining with a four second lead over Schumacher, with Gerhard Berger, having jumped Villeneuve and Alesi at the stops. However, before Schumacher could attack or Hill pull away the race would be interrupted by a rare appearance for the safety car. The cause would be Diniz, who managed to collide with Luca Badoer and send the Italian spiralling into the air. Badoer's car was left upside down at the side of the track, the Italian having to pull himself out of the wreckage, while Diniz carried on, only for his car to catch fire after a safety valve in the fuel tank failed. At the restart Hill would get the jump on Schumacher and re-establish a small lead, while Martin Brundle and Tarso Marques collided. Debris from that incident was then flicked up by Hill on the following lap, which duly smashed into the rear wing of Schumacher's car. Although the German seemed to have got away with it the Ferrari's rear wing would slowly begin to fall apart, ultimately causing him to retire twelve laps after the impact. That promoted Berger into second ahead of Villeneuve, only for a suspension failure to end his hopes. With that the race was over, barring a ferocious duel for fifth between Eddie Irvine and Jos Verstappen on the final lap. That duly ended with the #2 Ferrari ahead of the #17 , with those two trailing Rubens Barrichello in fourth by ten seconds. Out front, meanwhile, Hill would cruise across the line with a twelve second lead over Villeneuve, scoring his third win of the season. Alesi, meanwhile, would claim third having run out of time to catch the Canadian late on, with ten drivers making it to the finish. Background Two races down and Damon Hill had continued his perfect start to the season, leaving Brazil with twenty points to his name and a handsome fourteen point lead. Jacques Villeneuve and Jean Alesi were his closest challengers, level on six points, while Mika Häkkinen was a point further back in fourth. Defending World Champion Michael Schumacher then completed the top five ahead of Eddie Irvine, with nine drivers on the board. In the Constructors Championship already had a daunting lead, leaving Brazil with seventeen points in hand. Indeed, that meant that , the team in second, already had to claim a one-two finish without Williams scoring just to get back on terms, and hence affirmed Williams' position as favourites. , meanwhile, were sat in third ahead of , with and completing the score sheet. Entry list The full entry list for the is outlined below: Practice Overview Qualifying Report Qualifying Results The full qualifying results for the are outlined below: *T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car to set their best time in that session. *'Bold' indicates a driver's best/qualifying time. Grid Race Report Results The full results for the are outlined below: *T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car. Milestones * set a new record for most individual entries as a constructor - 1,334.'1996 Argentine GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2014), http://www.chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=1996&gp=Argentine%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 13/08/2019) * 200th entry for a engined car. * Pedro Diniz entered his twentieth race. * Damon Hill claimed his sixteenth victory.'3. Argentina 1996', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1996/argentine.aspx, (Accessed 13/08/2019) * secured their 86th win as a constructor. ** registered their 77th win as an engine supplier. * Twentieth podium finish for Jean Alesi. Standings Victory for Damon Hill saw the British racer continue his dominant start to the season, leaving Argentina with a maximum score of 30 points. Jacques Villeneuve remained the closest thing to a challenger to the Brit, albeit already eighteen points behind after three races. Jean Alesi, meanwhile, would end the weekend in third ahead of Eddie Irvine, with Mika Häkkinen completing the top five. In the Constructors Championship it was who had once again proved to be the class of the field, leaving Argentina with 42 points to their name. were now their closest challengers, 29 points behind, with three points further back in third. were next ahead of , with eight constructors on the board after three rounds. Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown. References Images and Videos: * References: Category:Grand Prix articles Category:Grand Prix articles Category:1996 Grands Prix Category:Argentine Grand Prix